Um, the year’s almost over… As the mom who’s now written 485 posts over the past 15 years (that’s right, my first post was March 30, 2010) AND printed a book of those every single year, I remain committed to capturing the high points of 2025. Yes, that means catching up from (gulp) mid-April, but I think I can do it. Let’s see?

SPRING BREAK! This year the girls wanted a staycation of sorts–though not “staying at home”, of course. They wanted to pretend to be tourists and relive some of their childhood in the beautiful city of Los Angeles. Insert Google Sheet here. I started by making a doc of activities that tourists actually come to this lovely place to do, then mapped out a (very) full schedule.

DAY ONE

We started out at a crowd favorite: The Natural History Museum (NMH)! We have so many fond memories of going there when the girls were little–many among the 28,000+ pictures on my phone. And so, we decided to RECREATE some of them, which led to a lot of new memories!

We beelined to the alligator first (I love this picture), and OMG it looks SO SMALL… even before we put our young adults on it. Zoe critiqued Ella’s performance (her expression didn’t match the original), ha! Then believe it or not, they had the same colorful walls with insects on them, all these years later, too:

That poor polar bear was also there and worse for the wear, but come on… how fun, right? Sure, if we were really committed, we could have found some matching outfits, but hey, it worked.

After the NHM, we tried out something NEW: Let’s Fly: Balloon Museum! This was an immersive museum passing through LA that was set up in a huge warehouse in the Arts District near downtown. Attendees were shepherded through a series of installations all having something to do with balloons, including a huge ball pit filled with black balls, over which they suspended moving lights, timed to music.

Another room had a massive clear ball with charcoal crayons sticking out all around, which you could push around a completely white room and mark on the walls and floor. DIY ART.

And the maze of exhibits ended with a room filled with Instagram-ready individual displays, where people lined up to take their very special IG photo. We took lots…

That night we went to El Cid (YES, it was a long day), a Flamenco club where diners watch some incredible dancers stomp and express themselves while you eat. It’s an institution.

DAY TWO

To follow up that first long day, we headed to the Kidspace Museum in Pasadena, where we’ve taken the girls many times when they were small. We did another flashback photo just to prove it:

This “museum” is really a hands-on learning center, with shifting exhibits based on time of the year and interesting science–this time we got to explore the five senses, including taste (did you know that chocolate actually tastes different when you hold your nose? TRY IT!) and hearing:

Zoe decided Ella’s voice does not need amplification. And there’s a tricycle “race track” that’s been there forever, where the girls took turns in the driver’s seat:

DAY THREE

Up next, we hit BOTH the California Science Center (another hands-on museum in Downtown LA) and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures–a first for us! Though we didn’t watch a film at either place, the science center has a cool IMAX theater and the Academy Museum has two incredible ones (no surprise).

DAY FOUR

We headed down to Long Beach for some Thrifting on Retro Row for the teenager and lunch, followed by a trip to the Aquarium of the Pacific another spot we visited regularly when they were young(er). Obviously, the one on the left was a Covid-era shot, but you can just imagine the smiles under those masks–and be OK with the new “I’m a teen now” smile on the right.

DAY FIVE

Keeping the fun–and the mix of old and new–going, we took the girls to Karaoke at one of those places where you rent a private room and sing your heart out. At home we have both a game on Nintendo Switch (Let’s Sing) and an old-school Korean karaoke machine a friend gave me, but there’s nothing like a private room experience. We started off at a sushi spot in Little Tokyo (Kombu Sushi), then spent an hour making memories. (CLICK FOR VIDEO)

For the right price, I’ve got about a minute of Bart singing Bob Dylan.

DAYS SIX-SEVEN (yes, that was on purpose; iykyk)

As every parent hopes for during a Spring Break, we ended up with LICE. Not kidding. Actually, only Ella and I ended up with lice (apparently we hug a lot), while Bart and Zoe were spared (that’s what protecting your personal space will do for you). Conveniently, Bart had planned to fly to Vegas to watch Dead & Co at the Sphere and Zoe had a sleepover, so Ella and I received professional treatment (EW, but DO IT) and stayed home.

THE FINAL DAY: EASTER

On the last day of our Spring Break adventure, the girls decorated our outdoor area and hosted an Easter brunch for teenagers! We hid 60 eggs in the backyard (and found all but one), three times. PRO TIP: Always count the eggs before hiding them. We’ve rarely found 100%…but at least we know it!

I should have named this post: “So many museums, so little time.” Or maybe, “How to do more in a week than anyone should ever do.” Or maybe the title doesn’t matter so much, and we can just be thankful for the many, many memories, both relived and NEW we created together. I’ll go with that one.

And now, let’s see how many more posts I can knock out before this year is officially over. Based on how much I can cram into a week (thank you, Google Sheets), I’m optimistic.